Carbon monoxide poisoning blamed for deaths of man, dogs in Oxford

Anne M. Amato

Published 12:01 am, Wednesday, January 30, 2013

More Information

About 'the quiet killer'According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, called the quiet killer, are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. High levels of CO inhalation can cause loss of consciousness and death. Unless suspected, CO poisoning can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms mimic other illnesses. People who are sleeping or intoxicated can die from CO poisoning before ever experiencing symptoms.Battery-operated CO detectors are sold at many hardware and other stores, and their alarms warn of the gas before it reaches deadly levels.

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OXFORD -- A man who was house-sitting for his brother in a Silano Drive home was found dead Monday, along with three dogs, the apparent result of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The victim, Curtiss R. Raymond, 60, of Stratford, was found dead on a couch in the living room of the home. The dogs were family pets of his brother, Garrett Raymond, who was in England at the time.

Raymond was last seen alive by a family friend who picked up Garrett Raymond's 11-year old son Saturday night to take him to a soccer game. The brother came out and said hello to him," said a source knowledgeable about the fatality. "He was probably the last one to see him alive."

The boy was taken to his mother's home after the game and, luckily, wasn't returned to his father's home. "He could have been a victim, too," the source said.

Garrett Raymond's ex-wife went to check on Curtiss Raymond after he failed to show up for work on Monday. She got to the house at 8 a.m. and returned around 12:30 p.m. after picking up her son from school.

At that time, she used the security code to enter the house and found the victim dead on the couch and realized the three dogs were also dead, the source said. She became hysterical at the sight and called 911.

High levels of CO were found inside the home which is heated with propane forced hot air, the source said.

It's unclear how long the victim had been dead before his body was discovered, State Police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said Monday.

An autopsy, which will determine the exact cause of death, was not done by Tuesday afternoon, according to a spokeswoman at the Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner.

She said that in general, the cases are the result of malfunctioning heating units, broken furnace parts and poor ventilation of the home. She said in times of natural disasters, like Superstorm Sandy, the cases are usually the result of the improper use of generators or other alternative heating systems.

In fact, the state saw an uptick in CO poisoning following Sandy last October. Those who were sickened included people who placed generators in their basements or garages with the door closed or other places that let the fumes get into their homes.

Among them were a dozen Stamford residents treated Oct. 31 for CO poisoning resulting from an enclosed power generator placed in the basement hallway of their multi-unit home. An investigation by fire officials found the generator at the Leeds Street house was being improperly used.

Hanoian Fontana said CO cases are also common with the onset of cold weather, when people start up the furnace after it's been dormant for months. "That's usually around the end of October, when we tend to start seeing some CO exposure," she said.